I used the same pattern as the Groovy Girls dress, but with a dirndl skirt instead of an A-line skirt. 🙂

The fabric is a lovely soft cotton with a flower print and it’s vintage too! My mother bought it in the late 80’s to sew some curtains, but never did. I’m so happy I got to make a dress of it instead! 🙂

Here’s the back:

There is absolutely NOTHING I would change in this dress! I learned from my previous mistakes and drafted a facing for the neckline and just stitched the armholes down with some tiny slip stitches. 🙂

The green leather purse was bought by my grandmother in the early 50’s when she was working at a portfolio factory. I don’t know if she sewed just this exact purse, because she told me she mostly made suitcases.

Today I want to show you my first entry in the Sew Dolly Clackett Contest! I was so happy when this contest was announced because I love Roisin’s style 🙂

The Groovy Girls Dress and Missoni for Lindex flats

I actually wanted to use By Hand London’s Anna dress pattern, but I was afraid it wouldn’t arrive quickly enough, so I decided to make my own version of the pattern.

So I went serching through all of my patterns and in the end I landed on the Portrait Blouse pattern from Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing. I used the drafting instructions for the Chantilly Lace version of the blouse, and I also lenghtened the tucks by ca. 7cm in the front (I left the back tucks original) and shortened the bodice pattern pieces by cutting them off at the waist. I also drafted the A-line skirt pattern and moved the zipper placement from the side to the back.

Here’s the back of the dress:

Finding the right fabric was the most fun part! I was thinking a long time about some fabric choices and actually cut out a dress in a lovely cotton with flowers.

But I couldn’t resist my old curtains (I had them when I was about 10 years old), and decided to give them a go. And I must say, I quite like it! 🙂

Of course there is some things I would change, and plan to do some day, like replacing the self-fabric bias tape with facings in the neckline and armholes.

Here’s a better picture of my shoes:

I wanted to match my shoes to the striped trousers on the girl to the right 🙂

It sure was a windy day when we were taking these pictures. My hair is all messy!

I’m so sorry it’s four months since my last post, but I’ve been very busy. Especially at work! Here’s the blouse I promised you!

Yes, that’s also a pink race car! I was helping my dad in his shop when these pictures were taken… 🙂

Here’s a better picture:

So, this is the second piece of clothig I’ve made, the first during my sewing education after what felt like an eternity of pillowcases and bags… 😉

When I made it back in 2010, after measuring myself, my teacher insisted on going up to a size 38. Well, it’s a bit big so I think I should have chosen size 36. But it fits in the shoulders, so I’m happy to chinch it in with a belt 🙂

The pattern is from a Burda Style magazine we had available at school, but I don’t remember the issue number, and I can’t find it on BurdaStyle… If you want something similiar, look for puffed raglan sleeves and a pointed collar 🙂

The fabric is from Panduro, white dots on a black background in 100% cotton. After several washes, it’s now more of a dark grey, so I guess the dye isn’t that good, but the cotton is soft and comfy 🙂

The white buttons are so cute, with little carved flowers 🙂 I’d wish they photographed well, but they don’t, so you just have to believe my word on it 🙂

I know many people think November is the greyest and most boring month in the year. Many people, myself included, struggles with depression through the darker months, just waiting for the sun to come back. It’s just like in “Rock-A-Doodle”! Anyone seen that? It is one of the movies I remember watching when I was little. In case you haven’t seen it, here is the trailer in Norwegian!

So, what do you think of the Norwegian language? I’ve always been curious about what Norwegian sounds like to others who doesn’t understand it 🙂

Anyway, I have always liked November, but not because of the weather. It’s because November is my birthday month! So today, I’m sharing my

Birthday Wishlist

…with you! I have made it in four different categories, so here it comes:

I’m sorry it’s such a long time since my last post, I guess I will become better at this blogging-thing one day 🙂

Anyway. Do you remember the dress I told you about in my first post? The one from 2008 that I took apart to make separates?

Well, I felt it would be too bad not to show my very first homesewn piece of clothing on my sewing blog, so I went and sewed/basted it together!

The pattern is from Retro Butterick, but I don’t know the number (I borrowed it), and the fabric is “Tumblin’ Dice” by Alexander Henry

I wish I still had the picture of the inspiration dress, because my dress really is a good copy of it. The biggest difference is that the background color is black instead of green, wich I think makes the inspiration dress more summery.

I actually reconsidered to keep it as a dress, but as you can see it doesn’t fit very well, and it’s really not my style anymore.

So I took it apart one more time, and made a skirt!

Much better I think!

This way I think the busy print is more wearable, because I can pair it with simple knit-tops and black tights for a fun look, perfect for fall. But I can also pair it with the belonging top every time I want to channel my inner Dolly Clackett! (If she would approve? I don’t know her personally, I’m just a big fan of her style) 🙂

For many years now, I have read and appreciated quite a few blogs, mainly about vintage and sewing. It’s so inspiring to look at all the beautiful pieces of clothing (vintage or handmade), and it really makes me want to create something nice and beautiful too!

So I wanted to start a blog of my own, to get more sewing done, and to show the world what I make for myself, my family and friends (and hopefully inspire someone along the way!).

From my point of view (observing from “the outside”, that is), the online sewing community is such a friendly and supporting place, and I hope to be a part of it, to join the cool sew-alongs, and of course make new friends!

So, who is this girl in the so-called “Crystal Car”? Well, let me introduce myself!

My name is Julie Mari, I’m a 20 years old Norwegian girl, and I love to sew beautiful things! I’m also interested in vintage styling, vintage cars (which started my interest of vintage style in the first place), and reading everything from books to blogs!

I started sewing “for real” in 2008 during Christmas, and the first piece of clothing I made was a sundress from a 50’s (Retro Butterick?) pattern. It was inspired by a picture I saw in a book about 50’s fashion. Unfortunately I ripped the bodice and skirt apart from each other a few years ago to make them into separates (not finished yet), and I don’t have any pictures of it as a dress.

Anyway, I have a lot of other pieces to show you! 🙂

Oh, maybe you wonder about my blog title?

Well, it is inspired by my love for vintage cars, and if you take a look at the picture above, maybe you have guessed it already, but you can actually see the “Crystal Car”! (The paint job is custom made for me, white with silver flakes in it!) The dashboard you see in my blog header, belongs to my first car, a 1948 Pontiac Torpedo Silverstreak (just in case you were wondering).

And as a bonus, I think the blog title sounds like a fun title for a vintage novel. 🙂

Okay! I hope you had a great time visiting my blog, and hopefully it’s interesting enough for you to come back!